I am afraid I am going to lose her..help!!

[jenni22776rn]

This evening my husband told me he thought one of my white leghorn was going broody because she was in the nesting box this evening when he tried to collect eggs. I went out to see and she was still in the box but was sitting on some other hens egg.... and she looked bad...brought in her the house to take a better look and her back end is red and is oozing a clear liquid from that area ...she is all fluffed up. I thought it might be a egg bound issue but I could not feel any egg there...she is very quiet and is not eating..I saw her yesterday and she was fine..I looked for mites..did not see any on her..I am just worried that it is something my other hens will get...I have her isolated right now..but what could it be?? I am afraid she is not going to make it through the night..how could I have missed her being sick??? I feel so bad...help!!

 

[rancher hicks]

I haven't any idea what could be wrong. I am sorry for your trouble and understand what you are going through.

Rancher

 

[roxyblue]

One of my chickens became eggbound with a brokenn egg last year. She stood hunched up and treid to lay a lot, she was also oozing liquid just like yours. Under these circumstances this is what I would do. Bring the girl inside. Give her a warm bath with water coming up to her vent and just let her soak. This will help releive any tenced muscles, so if she has a broken egg way up there it will be easier to pass it. Let her stay in the tub for at least half an hour. Warning: she may fall asleep

. after that I would put her in a box or dog crate under a heat lamp (don't let it get too hot) and let her chill in there with food and water available to see if she shows any signs of improvment. I understand that she may not be egg bound. But the symptoms that she shows lead me to beleive that she is.
Good Luck and keep us updated!
-Roxy

 

[jenni22776rn]

Thank you..I am going to try the warm water now...I hate to lose her...she is so young!
Now that I am looking at my egg collection from the past 2 days..I see I was short on one white egg each day..never even thought anything about it...just thought I wa due to the weather..but know I am thinking she was egg bound...do they survive once the egg breaks? she is just sleeping on my lap drying off..I hate the thought of her suffering..she is such a sweet girl..my little jenny...

 

[roxyblue]

I'm wishing the best for you and your hen, and I'll cross my fingers all night long if you like.
By the way: once you are finished with a bath, and have had her under a heat lamp long enough to dyr her feathers I would keep her in a dark room....like a closet. this is just so she doesn't try to lay an egg and cause more damage if she is eggbound.

 

[jenni22776rn]

Quote:
Thank you! That would be very nice of you...funny how they become such a part of the family!

 

[roxyblue]

oh yah, my girls instantly fit right in and are so much fun to have around, exept when they get sick........

 

[jenni22776rn]

I was holding her after her warm soak and all of a sudden she stood up and passed a egg shell with a bunch of poo...Thank you so much for your help!! Does that mean she will be ok once that egg passed? Poor little girl...I feel so bad I did not know what was going on...

 

[roxyblue]

I'm so glad that she passed an egg (I thought there might be something up.) Since she had trouble with this one I would keep her in a dark closet for atleast a couple days with breif visits outside. As I said before this will keep her from laying eggs untill she can heal completly....though you should have MANY more to come thanks to you!

hold on one minute....you said she passed an egg SHELL......but no egg? was the shell broken or egg shaped. Maybe she had a broken egg and the egg leaked out but the shell staid behind? I would whatch and see if she passes anything else....but GREAT job!

Uggh I keep thinking of stuff!! since she has missed multiple days of laying and her breed in known for laying a lot she may have more eggs backed up....I would continue to whatch for her behavior including how often and how much she eats/drinks just to make sure she isn't more backed up.....

 

[jenni22776rn]

yes I just checked it out and it looked like a broken egg and there was some yolk with it as well...she also pooped alot after..and now she is pepping up more...walking around in her dog-AKA chicken crate...I will keep an eye on her and keep her inside for a few days...I hope she does not have any more but I will soak her again later just to make sure!! Thank you so much...I was searching every where and almost thought possibe vent gleet..I and Miss Jenny thank everyone for all the advice...I will keep you posted...if she became egg bound...does that mean she is in need of more calcium?